In the Mavericks’ locker room, the board where pre-game instructions are printed by the coaches was a strong message in capital letters.

“I WILL COMMUNICATE AND GUARD MY ASS OFF.”

Assistant coach Monte Mathis, in charge of the Mavericks’ defense, had put the message on the board.

Then every Maverick signed it.

And so, the message was delivered and received as the Mavericks executed well at both ends of the court in the middle of the fourth quarter to open up a 12-point lead, then held on for a 113-107 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in a game that ended early Friday morning.

It was a show of force against a team that the Mavericks had lost two three times this season, each time losing leads in the second half and twice in the fourth quarter.

“Coaches, players, Cubes (owner Mark Cuban), everybody,” said Devin Harris of who signed the board. “Monte came in and started writing that down with our normal pre-game stuff.”

Added Jae Crowder: “It was simple and effective. You can use it as a joke, but we just need all guys in. It was helpful.”

The Mavericks held one of the NBA’s best offensive teams to 42.9-percent shooting and they outrebounded the Clippers. Those two achievements made a huge difference.

And so did the bench, led by Harris, Crowder, Vince Carter and Brandan Wright, who were on the floor when the Mavericks scored 10 consecutive points to open up a 99-89 lead.

“Great win,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “I’m not really looking at the standings, I just know they’re all important for us. The guys showed a lot of character.

“The team (out there) got us some separation which gave us a chance to close the game out and we held on, so it was great.”

It was the show of force that will give the Mavericks a shot of confidence going into the rest of the four-game trip.

“We needed it,” Crowder said. “They didn’t make it easy. They made us work for it. I think it will help us through the whole road trip.”

The win, coupled with events of Wednesday night when Memphis and Phoenix lost, kept the Mavericks in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race.

“I’ve never questioned their fortitude all year long,” Carlisle said. “Sometimes, I question our decision-making and things like that. But guys all have good hearts and they’ve been battling their butts off all year. So a win like this is meaningful.”

Dirk Nowitzki had a huge night with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but it was the Mavericks’ bench that supplied plenty of production in the middle of the fourth quarter when they took charge.

It was a sensational start to a four-game trip after what had been a completely disappointing 4-4 homestand.

The Mavericks held strong at the end, even though they lost almost all of a 12-point lead in the final 2:50. The Clippers scored 10 points in a row to draw within 109-107. But Nowitzki hit two free throws with 17.9 seconds left.

The Clippers couldn’t create any more magic in the final seconds.

The Clippers had not lost at Staples Center since the first game after the All-Star break, having won eight in a row at home.

The Mavericks put themselves in great position when they scored 10 consecutive points, six on Nowitzki 3-pointers, to go ahead 99-89 with 6:37 left.

They were getting nice bumps off the bench from Vince Carter, Harris, Brandan Wright and Crowder.

Unlike many of their recent losses, the Mavericks spent the rest of the game making key play after key play.